Ovation Applause Ukulele

im saving up.. but is it any good?

http://www.samash.com/webapp/wcs/st...e_-1_10052_10002_-49995975_cmCategorySA-10001

:shaka:

I can't personally say if the uke is good or not. I would suggest you get in contact with the company or get your hands on another ukulele so that you can play it. Make sure there is no buzzing, no things that you would come with the ukulele that would result in you experiencing buyer's remorse.
~"An ukulele in the hand is worth two online". well... depending on the uke.

For example, I spent about 900 bucks on my KoAloha tenor. I never touched the instrument before I bought it. I asked the dealer a bunch of different questions, got sound clips and other things. Although 170 and 900 are very different nominal amounts, the idea is the same; know what you're buying.

I love my KoAloha Tenor and I have never regretted buying it. She is BEAUtiful. But I don't want you spending your hard earned 170 for an ukulele you'll end up hating.

So find someone from that company you can talk to or something. If you cannot, I would suggest proceed with caution, because once you spend that $170, you might not get it back. Also check their return policy. That way if you hate it, you're not stuck with something you did not want.

If you can't find a dealer in the area, just know that you might not get what you want.

best of luck.

I have a UAE-20, I'm not sure what the difference is with a UAE-205E but it is 10$ cheaper at Musician's Friend It was my first "real"uke and it is pretty good. I did have a buzzing issue with the wiring and jack for the pick-up... Search for threads related to UAE-20 and you'll find the solution to that problem if you run into it. Also, putting concert sized Aquila strings on it made a noticable improvement on the sound. overall, it was a good uke to start on.

mikesurfer said:

im saving up.. but is it any good?

http://www.samash.com/webapp/wcs/st...e_-1_10052_10002_-49995975_cmCategorySA-10001

:shaka:

Click to expand...

They (Ovation) are the ugliest ukuleles out there. Buy a Flea or a Fluke. Sounds much better and will cost you less (the Flea).


Did I mention that they're ugly?

I have one

I got myself one last year. It's very well-made, intonation pretty well spot-on, but the neck is rather narrow (small, nimble fingers recommended!), and the plugged-in sound is a bit thin (passive electronics - no pre-amp). It might be okay playing plugged-in with other instruments (especially bass), but it's a bit trebly alone.

I play mine briefly at the beginning of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSbtgLTcSjI

Hope this helps.

I currently own two of the UAE20's. One in ebony stain and the other in cherryburst. My ebony stain is about a year and a half old and it has "opened up" nicely. It takes 6 months to a year to break them in right, but after that they develop a very rich tone and increase in acoustical volume. Mine are accurate in intonation all the way up the fretboard and have terrific action. Ric

I had one of the black matte finish ones and I gave it to a close friend of mine. He plays it all the time. They do sound good "plugged" and mine was pretty loud acoustically.

I've played one of those, and own the bigger tenor version. The soprano there is a cool little uke, acoustically it isn't that good, then again I don't think sopranos sound that good in general. But since it's an applause, it sounds especially uninspiring. But it really does come out if you've got an amp and some effects. You can really make some cool sounds with that active pickup in such a small uke.

But I've got to go with Alan on this one. Go with a flea/fluke. They're way better. I can't reccomend the fluke highly enough.

UKISOCIETY said:

They (Ovation) are the ugliest ukuleles out there. Buy a Flea or a Fluke. Sounds much better and will cost you less (the Flea).


Did I mention that they're ugly?

Click to expand...

The Flea does not cost less, it's the same price. But if the Flea is that much better than the Ovation I may get the green Flea.

:shaka: Peace Out

The Applause ukes aren't half bad, but some people absolutely hate them.

For the same price, though, get the Flea. It sounds a LOT better unamplified.

yeah buy it, i tihnk it sounds good. (going off youtube)

My $.10

I bought my soprano Ovation used from a friend and have learned to play over the last two years with the instrument. I am small-ish in frame (5'3, 110#); the uke is small and if you have bigger hands/fingers, the soprano may be a squeeze.

But I love the uke, think it is beautiful, and play the heck out of it. Also, it is indestructable and a great travel uke. Been dropped more than I care to say, and seen more US states and Caribbean countries than most folks I know.

I hope my next uke will be a Koaloha concert or superconcert, and maybe one of those fancy new Eleukes that play MP3s in a tenor (MGM says they'll be available in July!!), but I don't intend to get rid of the Ovation soprano; she has treated me very well.

Whichever you chose, may it bring you hours and hours and hours of joy!

(Also, I play both acoustically and plugged-in, solo, and with accompanyment from guitars, mandolines, and bongos.)